I'm worried about Rosie.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:04 pm


He is a cute guy and looks like he has a nice, healthy coat of fur.

I take it you will be weighing him regularly (if it were me, I'd even get in the habbit of doing it daily) so you know he is gaining and have an early warning of his teeth getting the upper hand. As is mentioned on the teeth page, they seem to grow fairly quickly. I think the incisors faster than the molars.

What looked like was happening in his mouth was a laying down or turning of the teeth. It may take more frequent and diligent trimming to get them to straighten out and start wearing normally. I hope he has a long and happy life with you.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:04 am


He is getting weighed daily. We just fed him and weighed him this morning, and his weight is up to 877g, which is 112g more than he weighed at the start of his illness (or, at least, when we finally noticed he was ill), and only 11g less than his maximum weight ever was the whole time he's been in residence here.

I have noticed that he drools. After he eats and I'm cuddling him, I always have a wet spot on my neck from where he lays his head. Is that normal for after a teeth planing? Is it because his jaw muscles are slacker than they should be, and he can't close his mouth?

He's able to eat pellets, hay, and veggies, but not as quickly as other pigs. He does not seem to be in pain. He's eliminating just fine and hasn't needed a subcue in several days.

I think he's doing better, but since I have never experience malocclusion before I guess I worry. The drooling and the fact that he can't eat very fast (and is still relying on the soft food) bothers me. We are still feeding him twice a day with CC mix (he eats about 1.5 baby food jars of mix a day), and I also mix up some really thick CC paste and leave it in his cage for whenever he wants it. He's eating about 1 baby food jar full of the paste a day too. All this in addition to the pellets, hay, and veggies he eats. But I think he really likes the soft food better. Should I start weaning him off of it?

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melcvt00

Post   » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:07 am


I don't know that I would start weaning him off it just yet. With all those sores in his mouth (how long has it been since his teeth were done?), his mouth is doing a lot of healing. It's probably still sore. That might be part of the drooling issue. I would definitely get him in to have his teeth checked again 2-3 weeks from his planing date.

InkysMom

Post   » Wed Nov 05, 2003 1:05 pm


Thanks, Para, for the wonderful pictures of Rosie. It's really nice to have a face to put with a name, and I have been following Rosie's story closely. What a sweetie-pie! I have always been partial to TSW pigs and I love long-hairs. I'm so glad you are willing and able to keep the old boy going, and I hope you have lots more time with him.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:45 am


I just had to post these pictures Alex took two days ago.

Me and Rosie, completely passed out after some serious handfeeding:

Image

Image

Does that look like one satisfied pig, or what??

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swannie
For the love of pigs!

Post   » Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:11 am


Yes, the green chin tells the tale. :)

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Nov 19, 2003 4:41 am


Rosie is doing well. We're still calling him "Perma-Purr" because if you rest your hand on his butt he will purr and purr so long he sounds like a little motor. It's amazing he can sustain a purr that long. He's finally broken the 900g mark in weight, for the first time since he came to live with us. We are still supplementing his food with Critical Care by handfeeding him twice a day with a syringe and by leaving some in the cage for him to munch on as-needed. He is eating hay, pellets, and fresh veggies daily.

I am worried about his eye, though. When we went last to the vet, she confimed that he has cataracts (cloudy "spots" on the interior of the eye's surface) and some sort of eye injury related to malnutrition (cloudy looking "pinches" on the exterior eye surface). The malnutrition patches have cleared up a lot since he's finally able to eat.

However, she did confirm that his left eye's pupil (the eye visible to you in the bottom of the two pictures above) does not dilate when exposed to light. It's a fixed pupil. She told me he was probably blind in that eye.

Just in the last two days, I have noticed something with that eye that's really bothering me. I thought at first it was just light reflecting off the cataracts or off the malnutrition spots, but tonight when I was handfeeding him I realized you can see it in ANY kind of light.

It looks like his pupil is turning white. I'm not sure if it's really the "pupil" or not, since the area that's white is circular in shape, but it looks less round than oblong. It doesn't look like it's exactly the pupil, but more like the pupil and some other area of his eye. It's turning white and looks almost silvery underneath the surface of his eye.

He is not reactive to light, motion, or even touching around the eye. He can move it back and forth so he has muscle control, but the fact that it's turning white bothers me. It does NOT look like the cloudiness of a hay poke or other infection. His lids and eye moisture look fine. The surface of the eye (except for the malnutrition scarring) looks fine. This is inside the eye, and you can clearly see the sharp edge of some part of the eye that's just turning white. It's so weird looking.

Has anybody ever seen this before? What is it? Does he need to go to the vet ASAP?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 19, 2003 7:12 am


He may be going blind. He'll be able to get along fine if he does though. If there does not appear to be an injury, I'm not sure what a vet could do. A veterinary opthamologist could definitely tell you what is going on.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Thu Nov 20, 2003 8:40 am


Here are some pictures...

Rosie in one of his favorite spots - The Prime Pillow Position next to my computer:

Image

This is the eye that's "turning white":

Image

This is the "good eye".. He does have cataracts and some surface malnutrition scarring on this eye. You can see the "pinched" appearance a bit in this photo:

Image


So does the bad eye look like it's just going "blind"? We have noticed a drastic change in the last few days. I don't know what to do for him, really. If the eye is dying, will it need to be removed? The only experience I have with eyes (except for the usual hay poke) is Tigger's eye which had to come out.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Nov 20, 2003 8:58 am


Can you haul Rosie along the next time you see a vet? I don't know enough either, to be able to say whether or not something else is going on. Eyes will cloud over when there is an injury.

Is the eye getting normal lubrication? Can you see tearing, fluids on the lower rim?

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Thu Nov 20, 2003 9:02 am


Yes, his eye looks lubricated. That's one of the things I check for daily, because when I feel his eyes are looking a bit "dry" - I give him a subcue.

He has been on Bactrim since before all this mess started for URI symptoms. They are being held more at bay than anything, and do not seem to really be clearing up. I'm worried because he's so old that there are maybe a few different things wrong. He's had an Xray and the vet says his heart looks fine. I just don't know. He's healtheir NOW then at any time since we've had him, and now this eye thing.

We have an appointment tomorrow at 5 with the vet.

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AuntyLaura

Post   » Thu Nov 20, 2003 9:35 am


His eye looks like my dog's eye when the retina had detatched and he lost the sight in it. I hope that is not the case with Rosie. Good luck.

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